Photographer Robert Bahou is perfectly capable of taking typical glamorous animal portraits, but he’s much more interested in getting at who his models really are. He’d rather capture their unique personalities and honest emotions than their physical beauty.

“I’ve avoided all distraction by limiting the photographs to medium shots with a black background, and I have purposely avoided humor as a selling point. Despite all the cameras we point at cats and dogs (and sometimes horses), we rarely attempt to capture an intimate moment of character, or personality. We generally direct our attention towards (funny/cute) actions, behavior, and so forth.”

While I certainly do enjoy glamorous (or adorable) pet portraits, I can definitely appreciate what he’s getting at. Anyone who’s ever lived with an animal knows what individuals they are, and Bahou really excels at capturing that wacky special something possessed by his subjects.

Bahou’s book, Animal Soul, can be purchased on Amazon.

All images property of Robert Bahou.